Tomsk's Essex Events 2016

[Tomsk]

Here are the bare bones of my 2016 events:

All now in the online calendar, with the exception of the Flitch Bikes 100. Lots more information to appear on AUKweb in the new year, probably. The new 400 on 2nd July, 'Kingdom of the East Saxons' is still a bit of a work in progress as far as controls go. I'm hoping to get a deal with a hotel in Harwich for a simple buffet at 150km, so there will be extra tlc on what should be a good first 400.

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH, Churchend, Dunmow    £8.00 Fee includes food at start & finish
07:30 Horsepower 200km                                                   
Controls at Lavenham, Snetterton Park and Newmarket

09:00 Horsepower 100km
Out and back route to Newmarket

SATURDAY 30th APRIL, Manningtree                      £4.00 ‘X’ rated – café at finish
00:01 Green & Yellow Fields 300km                                     
Through the night via Barton Mills 24 hour services to breakfast on the Norfolk coast, return trip through Wymondham & Needham Market.

SATURDAY 4th JUNE, Manningtree                         £4.00 ‘X’ - café at start & finish, if you time it right!
09:00 Asparagus & Strawberries 400km                                 
Classic tour of East Anglia, via Ixworth, Halesworth, the Reedham ferry and Acle to fish and chips at Wells-next-the-Sea, back through the night to Barton Mills and Saffron Walden.

SATURDAY 2nd July, Churchend                              £15.00
11:00 Kingdom of the East Saxons 400km
Full TLC, including food at start, & food + sleeping accommodation at 250km. Pub at finish. Staying almost entirely within the ancient kingdom of the East Saxons and including visits to the coast at Harwich, the ‘Sunshine Coast’ [Walton, Frinton, Clacton], Wivenhoe & Burnham-on-Crouch.

FRIDAY 15th JULY, Churchend                                £9.00 Includes brunch at the finish                     
21:00 Hereward the Wake 300km                                     
Up through the Fens at night to Whittlesea via Cambridge, then some lesser known and scenic parts of Beds, Herts and the ‘Essex Alps’.

SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER, Churchend            £6.00 Includes breakfast at start. Pub finish.       
06:00 The Flatlands 600km                                               
From scenic north Essex to the Humber at Goole, with a lot of Lincolnshire fenland and flatlands along the River Trent. Two gently rolling section in the Wolds for variety. A lot of Wetherspoons pubs, McDonalds and 24 hour garages to provide sustenance…

2016-17 Season

SATURDAY 1st OCTOBER, Churchend, Dunmow   £8.00 Includes food at start and finish.
08:30 Flitch Bikes 200km                                                   
Café controls at Grantchester, Hawstead and Mistley.

09:30 Flitch Bikes 100km
Out and back to Hawstead.

[Whitedown Man]

 

And selfishly pleased to see that with the introduction of the Kingdom of the East Saxons I shall now be able to ride the 9 Counties (same w/e as Asparagus & Strawberries) without sacrificing my inaugural Essex SR.

Roll on 2016

[jiberjaber]

*** Warning Newbie Alert *** 
What does the 'X rated' stand for Tom ? 

[tedshred]

That is something that will become apparent during the rides.

It's not really spoken about though.

[mmmmartin]

X rated means no facilities - so you buy your own grub and arrange your own sleeping arrangements. This is in contrast with other events where you check in at, perhaps, a village hall and grub is supplied.

X rated events are preferred by some riders because they allow a cheap entry, hence you can be a DNS (did not start) if the weather is foul and then you've lost only a few quid, plus if you have some special dietary need you can make your own arrangements regarding food. I like them.

On the other hand they are a bit tiresome when the only sleep you get on a 400k is an hour on the floor of a Shell garage in north norfolk at 3am followed by 15 minutes sitting on a church bench at 6.45am. An ability to exist on cold milk and Ginster's pasties is essential to enjoy X rated events.

The big advantage is that an organiser can take on a X rated event knowing it is minimal organisational faff involving a route, a brevet card and experienced riders, so without X rated events there'd be a big hole in the audax calendar.

My advice is to take pork pies as emergency rations: one per 100k. For the Seething 600k I had to buy a new Carradice.............

(Or travel to the south where El Supremo is doing the catering - it's usually cheaper to enter the whole family for one of his audaxes than it is to feed them from a supermarket - and the food is unlimited, to boot!)

[mmmmartin]

Jiberjaber - I'll be doing some of these - but not the Flatlands because I'll be on the Fridays Tour with you. I recommend especially the Green & Yellow Fields - it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad, and finishes at Manningtree station where there is a breakfast to die for.

[jiberjaber]

 

[Whitedown Man]

X rated events are preferred by some riders because they allow a cheap entry, hence you can be a DNS (did not start) if the weather is foul and then you've lost only a few quid, plus if you have some special dietary need you can make your own arrangements regarding food. I like them.

And ... X rated also means that you are in complete control of when and where you stop, when and what you eat, etc., and you can vary your plans according to changing weather, how you happen to feel on the day and any other in-ride factors. If the self-sufficient nature of Audax is what rocks your boat, then X rated is for you.

[tippers_kiwi]

On the other hand they are a bit tiresome when the only sleep you get on a 400k is an hour on the floor of a Shell garage in north norfolk at 3am followed by 15 minutes sitting on a church bench at 6.45am. An ability to exist on cold milk and Ginster's pasties is essential to enjoy X rated events.

Luxury 

[LMT]

X rated means no facilities - so you buy your own grub and arrange your own sleeping arrangements. This is in contrast with other events where you check in at, perhaps, a village hall and grub is supplied.

X rated events are preferred by some riders because they allow a cheap entry, hence you can be a DNS (did not start) if the weather is foul and then you've lost only a few quid, plus if you have some special dietary need you can make your own arrangements regarding food. I like them.

On the other hand they are a bit tiresome when the only sleep you get on a 400k is an hour on the floor of a Shell garage in north norfolk at 3am followed by 15 minutes sitting on a church bench at 6.45am. An ability to exist on cold milk and Ginster's pasties is essential to enjoy X rated events.

The big advantage is that an organiser can take on a X rated event knowing it is minimal organisational faff involving a route, a brevet card and experienced riders, so without X rated events there'd be a big hole in the audax calendar.

My advice is to take pork pies as emergency rations: one per 100k. For the Seething 600k I had to buy a new Carradice.............

(Or travel to the south where El Supremo is doing the catering - it's usually cheaper to enter the whole family for one of his audaxes than it is to feed them from a supermarket - and the food is unlimited, to boot!)

Depends on how:

1) How quick you are
2) The amount of prep you are prepared to do leading up to the ride.


Those of us that ride like the wind, it's a matter of cochin in a hotel for six hours followed by a full English.

The Flatlands 600 is especially great as the Travelodge in Sleaford can also act as the control.

[tedshred]

Spoilsports.

We were going to enjoy winding Jiberjaber up next Wednesday 

[Oscar's dad]

[G&YF] ... it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad ...

Most unlikely, my retirement from audaxing remains in force. I suppose I could ride over for the curry and get the train home 

[Carlosfandango]

[G&YF] ... it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad ...

Most unlikely, my retirement from audaxing remains in force. I suppose I could ride over for the curry and get the train home 

Or you ride over for the curry and cycle home via Wells next the Sea. Why not?

[tedshred]

[G&YF] ... it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad ...

Most unlikely, my retirement from audaxing remains in force. I suppose I could ride over for the curry and get the train home 

Or you ride over for the curry and cycle home via Wells next the Sea. Why not?

That sounds a good option, particularly as we are heading to Burnham Deepdale.

[Tomsk]

Spoilsports.

We were going to enjoy winding Jiberjaber up next Wednesday 

  All the cryptic event codes are explained on AUKweb. One that should be emphasised in the 'X'-planation is: "No, the route won't be signed, it's not a sportive, you're on your own chum"...I have been asked...

[tedshred]

Spoilsports.

We were going to enjoy winding Jiberjaber up next Wednesday 

  All the cryptic event codes are explained on AUKweb. One that should be emphasised in the 'X'-planation is: "No, the route won't be signed, it's not a sportive, you're on your own chum"...I have been asked...

Yeah, sorry about that 

Sister Carol and I rely on a combination of following Huggy, using Wilkyboy's tracks and avoiding OD's off piste wanderings.

When we can't rely on those we just get lost instead. Maybe audax is a bit complicated for us.

[Carlosfandango]

[G&YF] ... it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad ...

Most unlikely, my retirement from audaxing remains in force. I suppose I could ride over for the curry and get the train home 

Or you ride over for the curry and cycle home via Wells next the Sea. Why not?

That sounds a good option, particularly as we are heading to Burnham Deepdale.

Really? Isn't B D on the other long flat ride, the Asparagus and Strawberries?

[Carlosfandango]

Spoilsports.

We were going to enjoy winding Jiberjaber up next Wednesday 

  All the cryptic event codes are explained on AUKweb. One that should be emphasised in the 'X'-planation is: "No, the route won't be signed, it's not a sportive, you're on your own chum"...I have been asked...

Yeah, sorry about that 

Sister Carol and I rely on a combination of following Huggy, using Wilkyboy's tracks and avoiding OD's off piste wanderings.

When we can't rely on those we just get lost instead. Maybe audax is a bit complicated for us.

It certainly does get a bit complicated at times, I blame the organisers for dreaming up these unnecessarily twisty, turny routes. On more than one occasion I've just followed a likely looking cyclist, not a roady in club colours and not someone with their weekly shopping in carrier bags hanging on their handlebars, but someone inbetween.

[tedshred]

[G&YF] ... it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad ...

Most unlikely, my retirement from audaxing remains in force. I suppose I could ride over for the curry and get the train home 

Or you ride over for the curry and cycle home via Wells next the Sea. Why not?

That sounds a good option, particularly as we are heading to Burnham Deepdale.

Really? Isn't B D on the other long flat ride, the Asparagus and Strawberries?

And you wonder why you get lost 

[Carlosfandango]

[G&YF] ... it starts at midnight after a curry, perhaps with Oscar's Dad ...

Most unlikely, my retirement from audaxing remains in force. I suppose I could ride over for the curry and get the train home 

Or you ride over for the curry and cycle home via Wells next the Sea. Why not?

That sounds a good option, particularly as we are heading to Burnham Deepdale.

Really? Isn't B D on the other long flat ride, the Asparagus and Strawberries?

And you wonder why you get lost 

 

[jiberjaber]

Spoilsports.

We were going to enjoy winding Jiberjaber up next Wednesday 

  All the cryptic event codes are explained on AUKweb. One that should be emphasised in the 'X'-planation is: "No, the route won't be signed, it's not a sportive, you're on your own chum"...I have been asked...

We don't need a support car when we have OD's magic bag of goodies... (just need to convince him to come along...)

[tedshred]

It's Huggy's bag you want to hand. He carries a choice of kitchen sinks as well as everything you could ever need on a ride.

OD's bag seems to be full of "interesting" clothing, novelty items and esoteric camping gear 

We do need to work on him though, rides aren't the same without him buzzing around the field like a high viz wasp.

[Carlosfandango]

If those two are riding I probably won't need to carry any spares and Huggy's route finding is exemplary. Should make for a very relaxing ride.

[tedshred]

You can do the lead out again.

[huggy]

I feel my ears burning 

My Tomsk events for this year are likely to be The Horsepower, G&YF, possibly helpers A&S, probably the new Kingdom of the East Saxons 400k.  Just in case anyone was planning to follow me, if I'm out on those days there's a good chance I'm riding the respective Audax rather than doing the weekly shop.

There will also be some test riding of my own new 200k in the planning - Essex R&R 200k - with subsidiary events of 50, 100 & 150k on the same day, probably.